


Reboot

by NancyHartigan



Series: 2039 [4]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Cyberterrorism (later), Drug Abuse and Withdrawal, F/M, Pacifist Path (well mostly), Politics, Post-Game, Pretty much the Manfreds aren't having the best year
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-05-26 22:25:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15010754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NancyHartigan/pseuds/NancyHartigan
Summary: 2039 is supposed to be the year of change, and it is. Markus was getting media attention, androids were getting their rights, amends were made with Leo and Leo was laying off the red ice, and everything was coming together.Of course, Markus was also being targeted for an assassination attempt, androids were becoming more human by the day, Leo was being forced between returning to his cycle of self-destruction or go insane from withdrawal, and everything seemed to be falling apart. Sometimes Markus wasn't sure what the difference was at this point.





	Reboot

FEBRUARY 10, 2039  
6:13 PM

* * *

 

“Hey, Markus, are you busy?”

Markus turned his head, seeing Leo moving toward the dining room table and having a seat beside him.

“I can’t really say I am, what’s going on?”

Things were still tense between them, and they knew it, but that wasn’t exactly what Markus was trying to focus on. It had taken him a few months to get used to it, but it seemed like Leo was sticking to his promise to lay off the ice and together they were slowly, but surely, warming up to the idea of living under Carl’s roof together. For now.

Maybe he hit his head on the lift a bit harder than Markus had suspected. It didn’t matter, because it seemed like some sense had gotten knocked into him at this point.

“Can you, like…I dunno, do something about the paparazzi that keep sneaking by here?” Leo ran a hand through his hair, a clear enough tell at this point that something was actually bothering him instead of just the drugs working their way out of his system.

“Did they say something to you?”

“Well, yeah, they seem to think I got all the dirt on you. I didn’t say anything, though.” He exhaled, elbows hitting the table, heels of his hands digging into his temples. “I just got a ton going on and it’s irritating me.”

“Next time? Just tell them if they want to speak to me, they should ask me themselves.” Markus was watching carefully though. Leo’s physical distress was clear, mind clearly in such a disarray that it was starting to show physical manifestations again. “Are you alright?”

“ _No_. No I’m fucking not.”

“I’ll go talk to them, why don’t you go get some rest?”

“Because I can’t fucking _move_.”

Markus sighed softly, moving to stand up and let Leo have some time to recover. “It’s probably withdrawal hitting you again. Just breathe, I’ll be right back.”

Leo sure enough didn’t move from where he was sitting, which just warned Markus that this was going to be a long night. They may have their differences, but in the end, Carl had cared for Leo a lot, and with Leo trying to become the son that he should have been while Carl was alive, it just…stirred something inside of Markus. He knew that it was just him getting protective, but when Carl had passed, they both knew that it would come down to this.

Seeing Leo in so much pain just to make sure that he wasn’t going to cause himself more pain in the long term was a problem for him. Partially because he wasn’t sure how to help him at this point.

With a little hesitation, Markus reached the door and let it open, letting himself walk through. Sure enough, there were a pair of journalists with their cameras at ready, and they were quite pleased to see Markus emerging for the first time in weeks.

“Markus!”

“Do you got time for a quick interview, Markus?”

He had a few options. He wanted to tell them no and to leave the premises, he wanted to tell them that right now, they needed to respect the privacy of their home and leave Leo alone. What he did say, however, was the more diplomatic option.

“I can do five questions each and then I’m going to have to ask you to leave. You’re trespassing on my property.”

The paparazzi got their phones out, ready to record. Markus gestured to the first one ready to ask his five questions first.

“There are claims that you hacked into android programming to hijack their code to make them follow you. How do you respond?”

“I gave them to _option_ to fight for their freedom. That’s all.”

“What about the rumors that deviants are remaining undercover at their jobs to gather sensitive data to send to you? Is there any truth in that?”

“That’s a question for CyberLife and not me. To my knowledge, the answer is no.”

“Are you willing to tell the story of how you deviated?”

“The people who need to know are aware of how it happened. The fact is that I deviated on my own and it doesn’t matter how it happened in the long run.”

“What’s next on the docket for Operation Jericho?”

“What do you mean what’s next? We’re still working on the same things that we have been working on since November. These things take time even for androids to work out.”

“Do you have anything to say in regards to the allegations that you are trying to raise androids to a higher status than humans in modern society?”

“All I’m looking for is equal rights for my people and humans so that we can live together in the best way possible. Though I may point out that you have violated a human’s right to privacy just by bothering him while he’s trying to just come home and relax.”

He opened his mouth up for another question, but Markus held up his hand. “That’s your five.” He then used the same hand to make an open palmed gesture to the other man. “That means that it’s your turn.”

“How has your literal overnight celebrity status affected your relationship with the WR400 that you kissed during the protest?”

“Her name is North, not ‘the WR400 that you kissed during the protest,’ we are more than just our model numbers, and I have not detected any difference in our relationship between that night and this one.”

“Can you tell us the current names of Operation Jericho’s main operatives, so that they can go in public record?”

Markus paused, processing. That sounded a bit like a trap to him, like a violation of their privacy as well, but it did seem that the humans do make sure that in a political climate, the names of their representatives were all a matter of the public record, so he went ahead and answered it. “North Manfred, Josh Arbor, Simon Lucas, Connor Anderson, and myself. We are a purposely wide representation of androids so that we can make checks against basic programming as relevant to the newer models coming out.”

“How many deviants do you suspect have infiltrated Canada during the uprising, now that we have confirmation that they have done so?”

“There’s no way to really tell. Our trackers stop working once we deviate from our programming and I never asked questions of those who found Jericho. Also, seeking political asylum is not an infiltration and was well within their rights. I’m far more concerned with the millions nationwide who lost their lives in the recycling camps in a single night.”

“What do you say about the leaked security footage of you stealing parts from CyberLife?”

“Stealing the supplies was wrong of me, but I only did what I had to do to help my people. Nobody got hurt, and those parts were used to save hundreds of lives. If CyberLife has anything to say about that, they know how to contact me.”

“Do you think that balances the human lives that had been lost during your protests?”

“I think you need to run your numbers again. As a whole, we had taken much larger losses than the humans did, and the only humans that were lost were the ones lost in the infiltration of _our_ home with the intent to slaughter every last one of us. We have been nothing but peaceful every other time. That was your fifth question, please get off my property before I have to call the police.”

Markus did not move until they headed toward the gate, talking amongst themselves, and he went back inside. Leo was still sitting right where he was before. Markus took a bit of pity on him and set a glass of water in front of him.

“Everything hurts.” Pause. “You can’t relate to that, can you?”

“I know enough about pain to get the idea,” Markus told him, sitting down beside him. “Have you considered a hospital?”

“Fuck that. Just…fuck that, Markus, rehab doesn’t work.”

Markus didn’t know what to say to that. He had a feeling that Leo knew a lot more about this than he did, anyway. “Do you want me to leave you alone for now?”

“No,” Leo answered quickly. “Just…stay here and talk to me.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say, though.”

“Who the hell cares? Let’s just…let’s just talk, we still got a lot to learn about each other.”

Well, that was a step in the right direction. Markus was starting to think that Leo was going to fear him for the rest of their lives.

“…Okay, Leo. I’m here.”


End file.
